baking · cooking · Dessert

Chocolate, Cranberry and Oat Bars

This was a regular recipe converted to vegan. At first I wasn’t so sure about the bars. For one it was so hot here that the bars were gooey even when baked (the chocolate chips couldn’t get hard!) and crumbled badly. I ended up refrigerating the bars and the next day tried them again and they were great tasting suddenly. They still crumbled like crazy but the taste was very mellow and the chocolate wasn’t oozing 😉

Chocolate, Cranberry and Oat Bars

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • 2 Tbsp flax-seed meal + 6 Tbsp water
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • ¾ cup Earth Balance buttery stick (12 Tbsp)
  • 1½ cups packed dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (heaping or 4 ounces weighed)
  • ½ cup finely chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a 9×13″ glass baking dish with spray.

Combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small glass mixing bowl, put in the microwave for 30 seconds on high, let sit on the counter.

Whisk the flax-seed meal and water together in a small bowl, set aside.

Stir the dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium mixing bowl, set aside.

In a stand mixer beat the buttery stick until light, add in the sugar and beat to combine. Add in the flax-seed mixture and beat in.

With the mixer on low add in the dry ingredients, beat in and then add the cranberries and orange juice, then the chocolate chips and pecans.

Knock out the batter into the prepared pan, smooth out.

Bake for 25 to 40 minutes, checking every 5 minutes after 25, until it is golden brown, the top is set and a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool on the counter and then store in the refrigerator.

~Sarah

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